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Ryan Sieg Finds Light in Struggling Darlington Weekend

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For Ryan Sieg, it was a tough weekend at Darlington Raceway.

Struggling in practice on Friday, it was bookmarked with a “decent” 22nd-place finish Saturday, which now puts the No. 39 team in a must-win situation for the regular-season finale next weekend at Richmond Raceway.

In Sieg’s mind, despite finishing second at Richmond’s sister track of Iowa over the summer, a playoff spot is simply not in the cards.

“We’re not going to make it on points so we have to win… we’re not going to make it,” Sieg said. “It was a struggle. We got better at the end but still… an OK day. It’s decent but not where we want to be.”

In what would normally be a forgetful weekend in a tough 2017 XFINITY Series season, instead, the 30-year-old is relishing in appreciation.

Nearly two weeks ago, Sieg lost his older brother Shane, who himself raced in the Camping World Truck and XFINITY series from 2003 to 2011. And for only the second time since the loss, Ryan took the green flag in remembrance.

However, this time, Sieg’s No. 39 Chevrolet was also draped with familiar colors for Darlington’s throwback weekend, giving tribute to Shane’s red and white colors used in his late model career in 2003.

For Ryan, he was proud to continue his late brother’s legacy.

“It was awesome to honor my brother,” he said. “He got me into racing… and to honor him with the throwback was awesome.”

In times of heartache and struggle, NASCAR is known to approach the struggled with open arms. It was no different for Sieg, who has received support from the entire NASCAR garage the last two weeks.

“It’s been great,” he concluded. “Everybody has come by and said something all weekend, and last weekend, too. It’s like a small family even with NASCAR and our family.

“It was a really cool weekend. I just wish we could’ve gotten a result for him.”

Growing up in Easton, Pa., Zach Catanzareti has grown his auto racing interest from fandom to professional. Joining Frontstretch in 2015, Zach enjoys nothing more than being at the track, having covered his first half-season of 18 races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2017. With experience behind the wheel, behind the camera and in the media center, he thrives on being an all-around reporter.